Saturation of porous fabrics.



E..J. CADY. SATURATION 0F POROUS FABRICS.

APPLICATION FILED APR. 2. 191l- I Patented June I 4 shins-$1155 E. J. CADY. SATURATION 0F POROUS'FABRICS. APPLICATION nun APR. 2. I911.

Patented June 4, 1918.

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SATURATION 0F POROUS FABRICS. AHLICATION FILED APR. 2, I911.

LQfiAB Patented June 4,1918.

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'SATURATION 0F POROUS FABRICS; APPLICATION FILED APR; 2. m7.

1 26 ,%3., Patented June. 4, 1918.

4 SHEETS-SHEET 4- .ELISHA JESSE CAIDY, OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS.

SATURATION OF POROUS FABRICS.

nan-man To all whom it may concern.-

Be it known that I, Emsna a citizen of the United States, residin at Chicago, in the county of Cook and tate of Illinois, have invented certain new and J ESSE CADY,

useful Improvements in Saturation of Po- In saturating stock of this character,

especially where the product is to be used in places exposed to heat or the sun, uniform saturation is necessary as otherwise the product will warp, and as such war ing destroys its value the importance of e iminating this defect is vital. When immersed in a hot bath of saturating solution the air in the layers or pores or pockets of the stock is trapped and expands under the heating action of the solution, and ases are generated and similarly trapped, and both of these conditions cause the material to puff, so that the saturation is uneven and the product will subsequently warp or blister. bimilarly moisture in the stock will cause it to unevenly take up the solution, and steam arising from the moisture by the heat of the bath will cause it to pufl and swell, and both of these factors tend to produce unevenness in saturation. Also, where portions of a strip of stock are unequally subjected to the saturating action of a'solutlon some are either unsaturated or only unevenly or partly saturated and so destroy the homogeneity .of the product; for th1s reason uniformity of saturation of all linear portions of a strip is desirable. Furthermore, in saturating stock of this character,

. moistening the stock by the solution softens its fibers and loosens them from each other so that the surface is susceptible to ruptures and abrasions and'the texture or body is liable to tear or break, and hence continuity of saturating ction is desirable as then the draft on the stock is steady so hat its surface is less liable to disturbance and its Specification of Letters Eatent.

body is not subjected to intermittent or sudden strains or pulls.

By my invention I uninterruptedly subject one surface of a length or strip of the stock to the stress or pressure of the weight of a body of the saturating solution while the op osite surface of the stock is free from irect contact with the solution, and preferably while this opposite surface is in the presence of a reduced air pressure that tends to draw the solution applied to its other surface through the stock. The pressure or stress of the weight of the solution positively forces the latter into the stock and also expels from the stock all air, moisture and gases which thereby are forced out of its unobstructed opposite surface, so that the solution may freely and uniformly enter the stock and the latter is uniformly saturated and filled up and without trapping any air, gas or moisture, and so with-- out forming any puffs or warps or blisters or other deteriorating conditionsand the suction through the stock created by the reduced air pressure at its free side or surface expedltes the evacuation of the air,

stock to be moved in its presence to insure,

first, homogeneity of saturation of all its linear portions so that no cross-sectional portion is either unsaturated or only partially or unevenly saturated, and second, continuity ofthe saturating action on the strip so that the moistened stock may be steadily moved and not subjected to intermittent or sudden strains or pulls. Also, the surface of the stock is not subjected to any rupturing or abrading agencies or influences.

By my invention the saturation of paperboards or paper felts of different degrees of density b asphalt or like solutions is positively e ected and so is completed in less time than by the capillary processes heretofore employed, and it is, uninter- Patented June 4, 1918.

Application filed April 2, 1917. Serial No. 159,120.

' draw the liquid into the stock.

ruptedly effected to assure both continuity and homogeneity of saturation of a length or strip of stock.

My invention, briefly "stated, consists in subjecting one surface of the traveling stock to the weight of a body of asphaltsolutioxn and maintaining the opposite surface .of the st'ock free from direct contact with the'solution, and preferably whiletheop'posite surface is in the presence of or subjected to a reduced air pressure or partial vacuum to The solution or "compound f asphalt is prepared in any usual way now welhknown in the art for saturating or coating paperboard or felt, and is contained in a-s'uitable tank or vessel in such known consistency that it will soak into the stock. One side or face or the stock is subjected to the'direet and continuous action of the weight of the liquid by moving it slowly and at-aproximatel uniform speed in thetank with that side or surface in contact with 'a suit able head or column of the liquid and with the other side or surface of the stock free from contact with the liquid and preferably i'nthe presence of a reduced air pressure or partial vacuum, so that all portions are subjected to the evacuating influences or factors and also are uniformly and directly sub- 'jected to the positive soaking-or impregnat ing action of the solution. This is ac'comphshed, preferably, b'y'moving the stock on a perforated body located in theta'nk having its ends closed and of such size as to a'llow one surfaceof a section of the stock on the body to be directly exposed to the weight of the liquid,'so'tha't the various portions or sections of the stock are exposed to the stress or pressure of the liquid; for approximately uniform periodsof time, and are homogeneously saturated, and the saturating action is continuous for the runof the strip of stook so that it' can be moved steadily to eliminate sudden or intermittent strains or pulls on its body weakened "by the moisture'*'of the solution, and also "without abrasions, breaksor scores in its "surface. After being saturated with the asphalt compound or solution the sto'ek'is re-' moved from the bath and allowed to dry and harden or set.

My invention may be carried "out in a variety of ways and by 'various means, and in. order to clearly illustrate the preferred manner-of practising it, I represent in the accompanying drawings 'an apparatus for carrying itout, though I do not specifically limit myself to said apparatus, which-may be of any suitable-construction 'for'the "purpose intended.

In the -drawing Figure 1 represents a longitudinal sectional view 'on the line 1'1 of Fig. 2 showing-a tank orvessel containing a. liquid solution 'or compound of asphalt'and Fig. 3 is a detail sectional view of the a perforated 31am over which the stock is ,..passed and in which areduced air pressure may be provided; 7

Fig. 2 is a cross-sectional view of the parts-of Fig.1; 510

perforated, body of the drum;

ig. 4 is a view similar to Fig. 1 and showin'ga modified form of the apparatus;

Fig. 5 is a cross-sectional view of the parts of Fig. l, onwthe line-5 5, and

Fig. '6 is a detailview partly in section of parts of Fig. A.

The same 'reference letters refer to the same or-"similar parts in the different views. so In the drawing the reference letter- A represents the tank or vessel of general rectangular *shape containin the liquid'as- :phalt solution or compouni The 'sides a of the tankare preferably curved at their- --bottom portions to provide a container of the general contour shown, and-the ends a of'the tank are closed. The-tank is provided at its top with a supply pipe a? for the-saturating solution or compound, and at *its bottom with an outlet a by'which the solutiofi may be\ drawn off and the tank emptied. It is also provided with astea'mjacket B in which steam is diffused by any suitable means to'heat the liquid content of the tank to the required temperature; say 300 to-400 'Fahrenheit,-only asingle steam inlet 6 being shown for simplicity of illustration, and a b is provided for the products of condensation in: the steamjacket. The tank and its jacket are carried by a suitable frame C.

The tank the form shown in Fi 1 and 2 'is also provided with =a drum-Did in a'perforated'body'and mounted on a revowing shaft d which is supported centrally across the tank suitable bearings having the usual 'stufling-boxes, and has a drive gear 'd-- at one-of its projecting. ends to revolve the-shaft and drumfrom any no suitable source of power, as from the drivepinion d on the drive shaft d. The perip'hery'orbody of the'drum is perforated, and preferably it is composed of foraminous material, such as wire-mesh; in the present instance it is composed of an out'erlayer of relativel fine wire-meshand an inner layer, of relatively coarse wire-mesh asshown in Fig. 3. The body of the drum is supported in'positionon the shaft by a series of spaced inner-"rings "'d carried by corresponding spiders d fixed to the shaft. The drum is closed atone-end 'by an imperforate head (1, and at its'other end its'extreme ring d makes a. li'quid-tightslip joint with an annulus'a" of corresponding 'diameter fixed to theinner ed e of an annular recess or chamber formed 1y outwardly extendingor offsetting th'e'co'rres ondingportionof the associated end a the-tank,-as shown at'a 7 width is approximately the length of the drum, and this apron passes over suitable guide-rollers, with its working stretch or run against the outer surface of the drum for the major portion of its circumference. The apron passes over a pair of drive rollers e extending preferably across the central ortion of the top of the tank and through 1ts end Walls where they are carried in suitable bearings on the frame, the rollers being disposed so that their upper portions are above the level of the liquid in the tank, and being driven by any suitable means to move the operative run or portion of the apron inthe same direction as and in unison with the drum; the drive rollers may be driven from the ear-wheel d by suitable gear-pinions e. The tank is also provided with front and rear guide rollers e and e", respectively, on the level of the drive rollers and one on each side thereof, and with two pairs of opposite guide rollers e and 6 respectively, located at different levels in the tank and so disposed as to guide the apron with its working run in position against the drum and its idle run spaced from the working run. The apron is not essential, but it is desirable when the material under treatment is liable to break or split as then it carries the broken ends around and out of the tank.

The tank is provided with a cover G which has inlet and outlet passages for the material adjacent the rollers e, and the central portion G of the cover between these rollers is constructed to make tight joints with the rollers when the material is in position therebetween and also to close the drum between the extremities of a length of material thereon. For these purposes the intermediate cover portionG is provided with a bottom wall 9 which is curved in cross-contour to correspond with the curvature of the drum and rests against or close to the face of the drum, and with opposite side walls g which are curved in cross-contour to correspond with the rollers e to act as guides for the stock, and the upper ends of the walls g are carried tangentially away from the rollers to form inlet and outlet uide-lips g for the stock. The wall 9 is eveled at its ends to extend more or less between the drum and the extremities of the length or portion of the material on the drum, and this doctor-wall and the rollers may be faced with felt or other material.

In carrying out my invention on this form of apparatus the end of a length of stock S is fed into the machine until it enters the bite between the revolving drum and the apron on the initial guide roller e, aS shown at the right hand of Fig. 1, the drum and apron being moved inunison in the direction of the arrow until the end of the strip reaches the other roller 6, when .the machine is'stopped. The tank is then filled with the liquid which is kept at the desired temperature by the steam-jacket, though it is to be understood that the liquid may be introduced before the stock is in place on the drum as the stock may of course be readily led throu h the solution. it is obvious that when t e drum is thus provided with a loop of stock its perforated body is covered and closed by the stock and the bottom wall 9 of the guide whose beveled ends project between the drum and stock, and that the drum and recess at its end then form a chamber from which the solution may be pumped and in which a reduction of the air pressure may be caused by more or less exhausting its interior by the pump P. If the tank is first filled with the liquid the solution in the now closed drum may be drawn through the pipe (1, so that the outer surface of the stock is subjected to the penetrating force of the solution while its opposite surface is free from the direct contact of the solution, and the same effect will be accomplished if the solution is discharged into the tank after the initial lead of stock is in place on the drum. If it is desired the pump may be operated to more or less re duce the air pressure in the drum so that the suction thereby created will draw the solution through the stock; after the initial loop of stock is in place on the drum the operation of the pump will reduce the pressure in the drum for the purposes described. In either case the drum is rotated to move thestock from the inlet roller to the outlet roller where it is fed out as indicated in Fig. 1. The speed of the stock depends somewhat upon its density; for treating strawboard the drum is preferabl of sufficient size to expose about thirty lineal feet of stock to the action of the liquid, and they drum will make about two revolutions per minute, while for more porous stock its rate of speed may be increased. But in all cases the speed for any particular kind of stock is uniform so that all portions of it are subjected to the positive and direct action of the liquid for approximately equal times to secure uniformity of saturation. The penetrating force of the liquid may be varied for stocks of different densities by increasing or decreasing-the pressure of the body of the solution on the outer surface of the stock by putting the solution in the tank under pressure, as for example by having the pump that draws from the interior of the drum discharge into the pipe a and the penetrating force may also be increased by reducing the air pressure in the drum, and this pressure may also be regulated so that the speed of charging the stock with the nects the pipes 11 and a the circulation of rings excess solution will be carried out.

In the form of apparatus shown in Figs. .3 and 4, the tank is of increased depth, and the shaft (1 located at or near its bottom is provided with'a series of spaced rings d carried by corresponding spiders d fixed or loose to the shaft, the two end rings being made with solid or imperforate heads d. A suitable frame F is centrally supported in the tank above the drum and carries two opposite banks or groups of vertical ribs f spaced apart and arranged in line with the rings d, the end ribs being flat and the intermediate ones being preferably formed by suitable T-bars, and all having their lower ends f beveled in correspondence with the curvature of the rings to closelycontact therewith. A pair of endless wire-mesh belts or aprons E and E is provided with their operative runs located in the tank and extending in parallelism down and around the rings d. The upper portion of the inner apron E is carried u on a pair of drive rollers e suitably journa ed in bearings on the frame of the apparatus at opposite sides of the vertical guides, an. the lower portion of this apron passes along the ribs and around the guide d in contact therewith, it being understood that the guide rings merely form supports for the lower stretch of the apron and that consequently in this form of the apparatus they may be made revolving or stationary as desired. The upper portion of the outer apron E is provided with a pair of drive rolls 6 located outside of the drive rolls for the inner apron E, it being understood that all of these drive rolls are suitably driven by any desirable means so that the aprons will travel in unison. The inner or operative run of the apron E passes over an opposite pair of guide rolls e which are located adjacent to the upper ends of the guides f and in such position as to hold the operative run of the apron E in contact with the operative run of the apron E, and to hold this latter'run against the guides f and the cover G. The idle run of the apron E passes around a pair of idle rolls 6 and thence down around the idle roll e in the tank, the arrangement being such that when the aprons are driven with a length of stock or material interposed between them as shown in Fig. 3 they will carry the latter down the length of one set of guides f around, the rings or guides d and up the length of the opposite set of guides f. The edges of the inner apron E are provided with a suitable facing E adapted to make close fit with the end guides d and f so as to make the sliding contact or joint between these parts tight enough to prevent the solution passing-into the open space within the operative run of the apron E and to enable the air pressure therein .to be reduced when a length of material or stock S is in place thereon, the similar sliding contact or joint between the cover G and the inner run of the apron E being tight enough to permit this reduction of air presshown in Fig. 4 theoperation of the pump will draw the solution from the ace inside of the loop of stock, and as t e stock is carried along by the operative runs of the aprons its outer surface is subjected to the pressure or stress of the. solution in the Y same manner as in the apparatus of Figs. 1 and 2 but to an increased degree owing to theiincreased depth of the tank, and in .a

similar manner theair pressure within the loop or portion of the material under treatment between the operative runs of the aprons may be reduced by the exhaust ac-.

tion of the pump P to expedite the evaporation of the air, gases and moisture and to draw the solution into the stock or material.

The solution is positively forced into the stock, and so the saturation requires les time than heretofore. The pressure upon or draft through the stock is uniform on all portions of it, and sothe saturation is uniform and complete throughout the finished product. The air, moisture and gases are drawn out of the stock and their places are taken by the sohrtion, so when the product dries and sets the filling is homogeneous and the stock is free from pufi's, blisters and similar deteriorating conditions. By my invention "I can saturate dense stock, such as strawboard having a density'or thickness of .075 or .085, in less time than was hereto fore uired to saturate paper felts or'similar o s made in part of rags, and as strawboard makes a better product for shingles and building materialsthan those others and is a cheaper base being made from various 'kinds of straws which are annual products in large quantities, my invention enables me to make denser grades of finished products even cheaper than the more porous grades were heretofore made.

The stock is moved in a steady manner so that all sudden or intermittent strains and pulls on it are eliminated, each portion of the stock is suspended against the weight of the body of solution from the moment of its contact with the latter to its exit, and it is also supported against the pressure of the solution to eliminate liability of its breaking if subjected to a pressure beyond the resistance of its tensile strength.

I may use any suitable asphaltic or bituminous solution, and I usethe term asphaltto the pressure of the solution; for example,

as in the patent to Beach and Wood, No. 241,118, dated May 10, 1881. But in all such instances the pressure of the solution is applied to both sides of the stock with the result that the air, steam and gases in the stock are trapped and held in it so that they resist the passage or flow of the solution into the stock, with the result that the saturation is impeded, and as these foreign matters are unevenly scattered or spotted through the stock its saturation is extremely .uneven, whereas by my invention all these foreign matters are evacuated from the so that the saturation is expedited and uniform. I make no claim in the present case to the apparatus shown and described herein as the same forms subject-matter of my application filed April, 15, 1918, and bearing Serial Number 228,528.

I claim 1. The method of saturating porous fabrics with liquid solutions which consists in subjecting'one surface of a traveling length of the stock to the weight of a body of the solution, hnd maintaining the opposite surface of the stock free from direct contact with the solution.

2. The method of saturating paperboard with asphalt which consists in subjecting one surface of a steadily traveling length of paperboard to the weight of a body of asphalt solution, and maintaining its opposite surface free from direct contact with the solution.

3. Themethod of saturating aperboard with asphalt which consists in e acting the continuous travel of a length of paperboard in the resence of a body of asphalt solution, su jecting one surface of the stock toa the weight of the solution, maintaining its opposite surface free frolm direct contact with the solution, and reducing the air pressure on said opposite surface.

4. The method of saturating paperboard with asphalt which consists in simultaneously suspending and moving a length of the stock in the presence of a body of asphalt solution, subjecting one surface of the stock to the weight of the solution, and maintaining the opposite surface of the stock free from direct contact with the solution.

5. The method of saturating paperboard with asphalt which consists in supporting and moving a length of stock in the presence of a body of asphalt solution, subjeetin one surface of the stock to the weight 0 the solution, and maintaining its opposite surface free from direct contact with the solution.

In testimony whereof I afiix in presence of two witnesses.

- ELISHA JESSE CADY.

my signature 

